Current Updates -- 2006 Archives
14 December 2007 ~ Strip Pairs!
At the USDAA trial in Kerrville this past weekend, we played a game called 'Christmas Strip Pairs' on Saturday evening. The entry fee was a toy for Toys for Tots. My friend Donna & I teamed up to play. When we saw the clothes (4XL shirt, party bead necklace, & elf hat) we both said 'OMG we could both fit in that!!' So we decided we'd try just that!
She ran first, came up behind me and put the shirt over my head while she still had it on...
It was quite comical!!! You can hear Susan Mitchell in the video - she was standing near our camera woman, I suppose. She was shocked just like everyone else. Of course we were ALL shocked when Susan & Gerry Brown did a big KISS after exchanging clothes in their run!!
Anyway, here's the video of the run...I slowed down the handoff so you could get the full effect :)
We won by over 10sec over the 2nd place team. Someone made the comment after we ran 'Good Lord, you two, your whole run was faster than most people's exchange!!' Tom Bridge (www.fastclicksphoto.com) took some great pictures of the event, and Donna, Siryn, Josie, & I had a little photo shoot at the end, with our outfits and our winnings...I'll pass along those pictures when I get them! :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkdZIqqmOiQ
13 December 2007 ~ Kerrville Pics!
This past weekend, my friend Donna & I took a trip to Kerrville, TX (small town outside of San Antonio). Besides eating playing with bouncing Jell-O, we enjoyed hanging out with our fuzzy ones in the hotel room at the YO Ranch 'Resort & Hotel'. We got upgraded to a king suite since we requested a fridge for our raw-fed dogs' food and they were outta 2-bed rooms with a fridge. With the 3-4 dogs a night wedged in between us, I'd say we were just fine with the 1 bed!
Here they all are on the 1st night...
Donna has the 2 Poms (Puppy and Mindy) & the red merlie BC, Siryn.
The 2nd night, Ivie got in on the Pom action...
Then she & Puppy got REALLY snuggly -- it was ADORABLE!!
Is that the cutest thing ever or what??
To all of those people that say Ivie is 'aggressive'...I say phooey on that!!
Jos just wants to get away from all the action and catch some z's!!
She's the largest 'pillow princess' around :)
30 November 2007 ~ Girlie Videos!
Several new trial-compilation videos on my youtube page...
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=EmilySnider
It's so hard to get enough people to video all of my runs in a weekend. Sorry about the crumming lighting in 2 of them, and sorry I didn't get all of their runs like I have been...I just need to hire a full time videographer, I suppose! :)
Ivie over Thanksgiving weekend
Josie over Thanksgiving weekend
Ivie, November 16-18th
Josie, November 16-18th
'Extras'
My friend's dog Siryn over Turkey Day Weekend
Ivie in a Steeplechase last Spring
& in case you've never seen it...
All my girls weaving
23 November 2007 ~ Cute Josie story
Last weekend (the 16th-18th) we were at a small USDAA show in a small Texas town. There is a climate-controlled cement-floor crating area, and the surface in the actual arena is a sawdust type material.
Well, I was sitting on my crate mat putting on my shoes before the first run one morning and I had Josie loose as she was about to run. I was 'revving her up' but asking her questions about agility...such as...
"Wanna go...Tunnel?! Wanna go...WalkIt?!" and she'd spin & bark and look around. If a toy was nearby she'd grab it and shake it and go 'uuuuurrrrrr' as she death shook it. This is a 'thing' we do :)
When I said "Wanna go...Table?!" she spun around, spotted a chair at the crating area about 15 feet diagonally from us and ran to it, hopped in, assumed a fast DOWN, and laid her head on the arm rest like "does this count as a table?" It was SO Cute!! I just had to crack up!
Her face was so cute and innocent and she tried so hard to do what I asked!! Just Precious!!
19 November 2007 ~ Josie AAD & Ivie did good too!!
This weekend was, by far, one of the best I’ve ever had. We had awesome runs all around (well, save a few total ‘brain hemorrhage’ moments by the Ivernator) and I was just beaming with pride all weekend long. My girlies did me so proud!! & best of all…they had a great time doing it! They wore ear-to-ear smiles all weekend long!
Ivernator, Josie-Monkey, & I travelled to a little town called Carthage , TX for a 3-day USDAA show. The judge was Eric Bruce (the kilt-wearer) and the surface is basically mulch. Large wood chips mixed in with sawdust. It’s completely bizarre and typically takes some getting used to. It’s REAL thick in places and nonexistent, exposing the hard ground below, in others. Totally weird – this is the only venue I’ve ever seen with such a surface!
Both girls went 7 for 11 this weekend, and they each earned 2 new titles! Read on to learn more J
Friday started off with a bang, in my book. Masters Gamblers was the first class of the weekend and it was also Josie’s first EVER Masters run! She totally SMOKED the opening (even though I fell and rolled at the end of the dogwalk…thanks, woodchips, for making my fall softer!) and earned the most opening points of ANY dog in the class. !! She even beat Ivie by 5pts (1-2-3-5 system)!! It was a REAL hard gamble and only 2 dogs actually got it. Ivie would have, but was taking off for the last jump when the buzzer sounded. Since Josie earned the most points of all the dogs, she got a 3rd place!
Next was Master Snooker and we all know this is my favourite of them all J It was a tricky little snooker course and luckily Ivie was before Josie, unlike Gamblers where Josie was the first of all the open dogs! Josie got all 4 sevens (jump-weave combo) and if it wasn’t for one tiny little bobble in the opening which cost us about 4 seconds, she would have closed even though all the most seasoned competitors were touting ‘it is not possible to close with 4 sevens’ before she went in. they changed their tune when she came out since she was almost to the jump in the jump-weave combo when the horn sounded. ½ a second more and she woulda made it! As it was, she earned a 3rd & Super-Q in her first time in Masters Snooker!! Ivie had the same amount of points as Josie did but a slower time, so Ivie wound up with a 5th & Q.
Steeplechase Round 1 was 3rd and boy was that fun!! It was a pretty technical course with some awful off-course potentials. The off-courses took most of the dogs out of the running for Q’s. Josie would have been in 2nd place but she took one bar. So, since there were so actual few scores and so many dogs took bars while those that didn’t were blazing fast, only 4 dogs moved onto round 2. Ivie ended up in 2nd place in the first round, and Josie took 4th! So they both Q’d!! ½ the dogs in the finals were to be mine! :)
Jumpers was the last class on Friday. The only difference between Advanced and Masters was the placement of the triple. It was before a tunnel for Masters and on a straightaway for Advanced. That was the ONLY difference. Eric’s courses were all pretty brutal for the Advanced dogs! Ivie ran first in Masters and, despite my Jumpers-phobie, she took a 1st & Q in the ever-so-competitive 22” class!! I was so proud I was just beaming. That was her JCH title, at long last!! Josie smoked the course but lost her footing in a real deep patch coming out of a tunnel and just smashed right into a jump. Poor baby. She kept going like nothing happened but that kept us from Q’ing. She still took 1st place since all the other advanced dogs had at least 5 faults!
Saturday started with Masters Gamblers again. This was a pretty tricky little gamble with jump-weave-triple-jump and a hard redirect to a nasty WP entrance. I’m still in disbelief, but…Josie took 2nd & Q!! And not only that, but, 2 points behind her was Ivie with 4th & Q!! A proud, proud handler was I!!
Standard was next. It was a rough course. The only difference between Masters & Advanced was he took the wings off of jump #2 – as if that changed it at all!! Only 2 Masters dogs Q’d, and Ivie was one of them with a 2nd & Q!! Josie did the entire course just wonderfully but popped pole 10 in the weaves. They were very unsturdy and the poor dear tried her darndest to stay in. When I restarted her I made sure she took them at a more ‘normal’ speed. She still wound up in 2nd place. No Advanced dogs Q’d. What a bummer!
Grand Prix was a total disappointment. Ivie took it upon herself to go off course at obstacle #5 and when she then did not hold her AF contact I walked her off. No thanks on that! Josie was BEAUTIFUL and FLAWLESS and would have won a bye if it hadn’t been for a stupid off-course call. She laid down at the end of the AF in her lovely 4OTF position. As she was taking off when I released her, which was a flip-back to a tunnel, the loose footing let loose of her foot and her toe scratched the AF. So I got a whistle and an E. What a scam!! But her time was the fastest and she made no other mistakes the entire course. I was bummed, but it was nice to hear “Don’t worry about it, she is such a nice dog, you will have no problems getting your Q’s for nationals”. I KNOW that, but still…principle of the thing!! A bye is a bye!! Whatever :)
Steeplechase Round 2 was next and BOY was that ever FUN! I only had ONE dog in between my two girls. I forgot the course when I ran Josie and sent her around a jump and had to call her back to take it, which cost us time. Josie still came in 3rd, and Ivie won 1st place!!! I got SO many compliments from so many people. Everyone that hadn’t yet seen Josie was just amazed. When I told them her age (19mo) no one believed me! She is an amazing little thing, she is.
Pairs Relay went well for both girls – very well! They both got to be accommodating dogs in their respective levels. So Josie was on the 1st & 2nd place teams (both Q’d) in Advanced and Ivie was on the 1st & 2nd place teams (both Q’d) in Masters! What a way to end a wonderful day! That was Ivie’s RCH-Bronze title! Just 5 Jumpers and 4 Standards for ADCH-Bronze! I’m assuming she’ll be getting that title on a Jumpers run as well. Just a hunch…:)
Since Josie missed Q’ing in Standard and Jumpers earlier in the weekend, Sunday was crunch time. She needed only those two Advanced legs to get her AAD and move onto Masters everything.
Standard was first on Sunday. What a class to start the day with! I tried not to psyche myself out and to just run my dog how I would if it was just a practice. Balls to the wall, not holding anything back. I did that, and it was a totally beautiful, 100% awesome run. 1st & Q, baby!! That was her AAS title. Ivie didn’t fair so well on the Masters course (which was nearly exactly the same as Advanced, again…) The Masters class got totally skunked and not a SINGLE dog Q’d. Only 2 dogs didn’t E, one in 22” and one in 26”. That was rotten!!
Masters Snooker was the next class. It was an ALL-jumps Snooker course. 3 reds, easy to get to the 7’s, so basically just a foot-race and a ‘who keeps the bars up’ battle. Josie was, once again, the first 22” dog to go. I decided to ‘go for it’ even though there was only 45sec in the opening and most people said ‘there is NOT time to close’ when we walked it. Even with some wider-than-I-hoped-for turns in the opening, she still closed completely and with a time of 37 seconds, no less! Josie WON MASTERS SNOOKER for another Super Q!! Ivie also Q’d, though I didn’t want her to take a SQ from the baby dog! J I’m SO proud of my monkey…2 for 2 in Masters Snooker with 2 SuperQ’s! She’s just remarkable, my little tyke.
Jumpers was the last class of the weekend, as it is most weekends. It was really on the line as Josie’s AAD depended on this run! My arch-nemesis…jumpers! It was a really technical, challenging course. I was totally nervous when I walked it, too. The worst part was that it ran REALLY differently than it walked! The whole arena was completely silent as we ran, as everyone knew we had a title on the line. Josie ran it flawlessly and I improvised with my handling to accommodate her ridiculous speed! She walked [ran] away with a 1st & Q and her AAD title!!! I was so high that Ivie’s run didn’t go as planned at all. 2 Jumpers Q’s for 1 dog in 1 weekend is just too much to ask, though, so I’ll take what I got! I’m SO PLEASED!!!
My little baby spent 2 shows+1day (her 18mo birthday) to get her AD, then only 2 shows to get her AAD. I just could NOT be more proud if I tried! There’s just no stopping this little girl and I am so excited to see where she ends up when the 5-day New Years show comes around! We have a show this weekend down in the Austin , TX area and we will be staying with my friend down there. Then we have 1 show in December which is a 3-day that includes a DAM Dec 7-9th. Then it’s off until the New Year weekend, and the show is 12/28-1/1 which includes a LOT of titling, and 1 of each of the tournaments. I am so excited to see where this ride takes us. I am having an unbelievable amount of fun with my baby. She couldn’t be more perfect if she tried!!! & of course I love Ivie, too :)
11 November 2007 ~ USDAA Weekend Results!!
Josie did it!! She went 4 for 5 today (I did a stupid, STUPID thing in jumpers)!! So she's now in Masters Snooker & Masters Gamblers. What a super puppy!! She needs only 1 Jumpers and 1 Standard next weekend to get her AAD title and move into Masters everything. We'll be hoping!!
I'll just let the runs speak for themselves...
Saturday: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkJyrEU76p0
Sunday: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUk7-jA7cAA
(The last clip of Suzie was pretty gut-wrenching at the time...but all is well!!)
10 November 2007 ~ Day one -- Video Proof!
To just skip to the video...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkJyrEU76p0
Well since it's not even 3pm and I'm already home from the local USDAA trial where we ran 1 of every titling class, I figure I might as well give a little run-down. This is Josie's first week competing in all Advanced classes as she earned her AD at a show 2 weeks ago.
This is also the first day we've done anything active since my surgery on Tuesday, and she hasn't done anything very active since she tore her pads all to shreds last Saturday. I'm SO lucky to have a dog that is so even-tempered and mild-mannered when it comes to the NEED for exercise/play. I'm not saying I plan to make a habit of not working her, but it's REALLY nice to know she doesn't lose her mind if she's cooped up for a whole week before a trial. Ivie tends to be CRAZY and I have to get a LOT of energy out of her before we run in the morning if she hasn't run in a week. Josie also had to deal with my less-than-speedy self today, so my timing was off but for the most part she handled it very well!
The day started with Advanced Gamblers and she was simply stellar. Our timing was impecable and she ended up exiting the weaves RIGHT before the buzzer, which is EXACTLY where I wanted to be to start the gamble. It was a rather simple gamble, so not getting it would have been a MUCH bigger shock than getting it was. She ended up in 1st place & a Q with 82 points (gamble was worth 45!!).
2nd run was Advanced Snooker. The 7 was a tunnel inside a tunnel combination. Paul (the boyfriend) made me promise to 'take it easy, be conservative, and just get your Q!' as I was heading out the door this morning. He tried to tell me not to go but once he realized that was NOT an option...((if I can walk, I can run - right?))...he made me swear to 'take it easy' instead. The 7's were the 'easiest' thing to do, the thing that required the least amount of running for me. I was worried about getting her into the right tunnel opening for #4 so I opted to do 4 sevens in the opening so that all we had to do was get through #3 in the closing to Q. Turns out my bad timing was just as bad as I predicted and I pushed her right into the wrong end of 4, but we were the only ones in the class to Q, so we pulled out a 1st & Q with a mere 37pts!
Just one more Gamble & Snooker each to get out of Advanced in those classes. One of my goals in the LE chat list spreadsheet of goals is to get to the highest level of competition in at least 1 venue with Josie before the end of the year. That's looking like it might actually happen. How FUN! :)
3rd run was Advanced Standard and she nailed a pretty difficult weave entry, hit her contacts with her sore pads (though the dogwalk was CLOSE!), and did a bang-up job all-around. She swung around 1 jump and we had to go back and get it but considering it was a LONG run beside a lame handler, well, I can't blame the baby-dog :) We ended up in 2nd place by 0.40 seconds in that run. But 2nd & Q is still a Q! Without that swing around the jump we woulda been great.
4th run was Advanced Jumpers. This was one of those surreal runs. It was so smooth and perfect, and it was 5.81yps!! She took one stupid little bar but had the fastest time by over a second. I called her too hard while she was taking a jump and she swung in-air. I REALLY need to work on my timing. !! 2nd & NQ.
Last run of the day was Advanced Pairs. This one didn't get video'd because my videographer was busy with her own dogs but our pairs partner NQ'd us with a lot of faults in the 1st half so I decided to really push it in the 2nd half, our half. I was pushing her so hard she was squeaking, something she only does when she's really pushing but can't physically go any faster. It's so adorable. I pulled her out of the weaves trying to push. I wanted to see what her threshold was. Found it :) We still, as a pair, managed a 1st place so we still got a toy outta the deal!!
All in all it was a GORGEOUS day. Beautiful weather, great runs, and even Suzie Q had a grand time! It doesn't get any better than this :) Can't wait to do it all again tomorroW! Thanks to Heather for video'ing all Josie's runs for me!! YAY!!
8 November 2007 ~ Paw Update
Thanks for everyone's suggestions and well-wishes for my monkey & me. Josie is not limping at all today, and while I can still tell where the big blisters came off, the skin underneath is no longer 'new'-looking, raw, or fleshy. The new pads just look like the old pads, only slightly 'cleaner' ;) She is not limping around the house like she has been the rest of the week, and she acts slightly less pathetic when I mess with her paws. Since this weekend is outdoors on grass, a surface she is very familiar with, I think she'll be totally fine after another couple of days of healing.
Josie used to be totally used to that rubber flooring, playing agility and fetch on it all the time when I worked there. But it's been over a year since I worked there, and she hasn't been back since, so her pads were just not used to the wet/rubber combination. It would have been all right without the CONSTANT fetch-playing, methinks. Ah well. Live & learn. She has never worn all the skin off her paws before, she's always just been a real tough little cookie, so I didn't even think about it when we were there. She's fine on sidewalks, asphalt, dirt, gravel, wood chips, grass...you name it and her feet are used to it...except hard rubber flooring, evidently ;)
I'm also feeling better. Still not at work today so the girls and I are being lazy again. Good for the soul, good for the soul... :)
7 November 2007 ~ Poor Puppy Pads!
Josie, my totally tough, rugged, never-gets-hurt baby dog has finally found herself something to limp over. A friend of ours had a doggie birthday party at the doggie daycare where I used to work, where Josie basically lived until she was 6 months old. She hadn't been there in over a year and her feet were no longer used to the surface, which is hard rubber, and very slippery when wet.
At the party, there were kids and kong toys, and those added together with 2 border collies (Rocket & Josie) was a non-stop fetching combination to say the least. Luckily I stayed 'only' 1.5 hours, but that was 1.5 hours of non-stop running around. I saw a couple of tiny worn spots on her back paws as soon as it was over. What I didn't see were that her front paw pads (the largest ones, especially) were just total blisters but still completely attached.
Well, right after the party, I packed up all 4 of my girls, met my Paul at my house and we packed up the dogmobile and headed out to East Texas to go camping for the evening at Paul's Dad's 330+ acres. On Sunday morning we woke up and played a lot of frisbee on the dewy grass. Afterward, all of Josie's front paw pads were completely gone :( I felt like SUCH a bad mommy!! Being a true BC, of course she didn't even START limping until AFTER the frisbee was put away. Of course.
So I decided to leave her behind in the BC-pup-tent while the rest of us took a hike through the wilderness. Ivie had made a pretty large hole in the mesh the night before, freaking over a small fox nearby or something. So, Josie decided to break the rest of the way through the tent when we went on a hike. Dangit!! So, about 20 minutes into our hike over the river & through the woods...here's Josie!! Limping & Wild-eyed and all. GOSH was she ever glad to see us. I love this dog but she sure is silly sometimes :) I let her continue on with us but when there were steep in- or declines, I carried her. All 33+ pounds of her. I love her and all, but golly!! She's a mess, I swear :)
So, she and I are both being pitiful this week :) I had surgery on Tuesday and I'm home recovering, and Josie's being pitiful every time I doctor her feet.
I'm writing to share this story and ask for good, healing thoughts for us both. There's a local USDAA Starters/Advanced trial about 3 minutes from my house this weekend and we're entered in everything, 5 runs a day. I really want to be able to take advantage of such a small, close trial...so keep your paws crossed for us, please!! Pretty please with sugar on top?? :)
Thanks a million!!
28 October 2007 ~ Lock-Eye Josefin d'Arling AD NA CGC
I am so proud of my baby dog for getting her AD title on Saturday! Advanced Everything, here we come!!
Josie also got 1st & Q's in both Advanced Gamblers & Advanced Snooker this weekend!
For video...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ec0gVrZ8TBw
It was so fun to sit and review the videos when I got home from the trial this afternoon. The comments I could hear people making, not knowing someone was nearby recording, really made me smile.
"Oh, you have GOT to watch this dog."
"Josie is AWESOME."
"Gee, do you think this dog likes agility?"
"She has so much fun out there."
"Can you believe how young she is??"
"Wow, that dog is FAST."
"Look at those weaves on that Starters dog."
It really warms my heart to know that Josie loves playing so much that even the average spectator can see it in her actions & expressions. She is truly my dream come true for a dog, and she makes every day better than the last.
It quite amazes me what she has accomplished so far in 4 days of USDAA competition ... she has her AD, and is 1/3rd of the way to her Advanced Gambler and Snooker titles. She is my little wonder dog, and I am so thrilled with her. & of course I would cherish every minute with my little munchkin whether she played another minute of agility in her life or not. She is my special, special girl.
I adore my Josefin.27 October 2007 ~ Josie AD !!
Josie got her AD (Agility Dog) title today!! :) This means she is forever out of the first level (of 3), Starters, in USDAA. She is now in Advanced everything! She had a beautiful Standard run to finish out her title! She also got a 1st & Q in her first Advanced run ever, Gamblers!! Gamblers is SO our game :) She also got a bonus Pairs Q so hopefully that helped our Starters teammate. Now it's onto Advanced everything the week after Nationals when we show again!
Ivie did very well in Masters Standard today. She Q'd despite me! What a good dog!! That was her Standard Champion title!! :) She and her Pairs partner won Masters Pairs!! :) It was a very confusing Masters Snooker course and we got through the hard opening (doing four 7's) and then I sent her off course on the way to the #2 tunnel...we only had to get 2 & 3 to Q...I'm still kicking myself!!
Now for the real surprise...I brought Suzie Q back for her first run since June 2006 (I haven't trained her since then either), and she did Advanced Snooker today. She Q'd and that was her Advanced Snooker title so she is now in Masters Snooker! What a good dog!! :) She runs in Advanced Jumpers tomorrow. She does not have a 'ton' of energy, so 1 or two runs a day is her max usually.
I'm very proud of all my girlies! Out of 9 runs, we got 6 Q's between all 3 girls today :) We're going back tomorrow for Standard, Jumpers, and Snooker. A very short weekend of only titling just to warm everyone up for Nationals. We should be done & home REALLY early tomorrow with only 3 runs and very few dogs since everyone (except me) is packing up and heading to Nationals :)
Hopefully more good news tomorrow!!
23 October 2007 ~ USDAA Weekend!
I was Hospitality Chair for this weekend’s trial so I was carting the judges to & fro, everywhere. One of the judges sat in the back seat with the border collies every day while the other rode up front with me. After the weekend was over and I was taking her to the airport for the final time, she paid them such a nice compliment. She said that spending all that time with my girls gave her a new outlook on the border collie breed. She said all the others she’d been around for any length of time were so high-strung and/or hyper that they’d be a complete pain to live with. She said she enjoyed my girls immensely, and especially appreciated the face washes Ivie gave her. She said she thought Josie must be the sweetest BC to ever live as she minded her manners so well in the car and always just laid down and went to sleep, or looked lovingly at someone, hoping to earn a pet. It’s good when you help people prove their own theories wrong :)
Both girls did me SO proud this weekend, both on the course and off.
Here's the link to her weekend, live and in action. Thanks to Heather for the wonderful footage!!! :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPL8vwMuink
She made some AWESOME independent weave entries!! I love the ones at full speed -- she just judges them so perfectly. I like the face plant off the table on Sunday's Standard run, too. She came out of the ring with a big mouth full of dirt! Didn't slow her down any!! :)
9 October 2007 ~ World Class Entry!
Class last night was simply awesome!! I only took Josie to class, not knowing if there would be an opening for the Ivernator or not. Set up on the field was the Medium Dog Invididual Standard course from the 2007 FCI World Championships in Hamar, Norway. It was a pretty wicked course (http://www.akc.org/pdfs/events/agility/world_team/2007/sunday_medium_individual.pdf) with some pretty tricky little parts to it. Notice the chute to the weaves; that’s pretty non-standard!!
The first time through the course, at the chute-weave portion I brought Josie out into the open space past the entrance, gave her a ‘right’ and then layered the chute to get the jump, then up the teeter for a front cross, etc. Well, the 2nd time we ran the course I just wanted to see what kind of a weave pole entry my baby dog could manage. So after the chute I did not call her to me or give her any directionals, I merely said ‘weave’. Would you believe she made the most wicked entry I have ever seen!!??!! She took a straight line out of the chute right into the spacing between the first and second poles, whipped her body all the way around nearly 180degrees, and weaved perfectly!! My jaw dropped to the floor! My instructor started shouting “OMG, did you SEE that Emily?? Did you SEE THAT??” I had a smile to beat all else the whole rest of the night!! It was magical; that’s what it was!! & for a dog with whom I have yet to even concentrate on weave pole entries with. !! So far she’s gotten every one I’ve thrown at her, so until she starts to miss in shows, I will keep my time focused on other important aspects like keeping contacts consistent and improving efficiency on course when she’s high as a kite!
The first time through she took a nasty angle to the dogwalk (due to the wet grass) and up onto the wet dogwalk, and she never got her back feet on. She basically pommel-horsed her way up with her front legs all the way to the top of the first ramp before finally falling off. I stood there in disbelief. She came trotting towards me like ‘why did we stop? Are we gonna try again?’ <bounce bounce bounce> I swear, nothing stops this dog! She has these nasty looking raspberry scrapes and spots all over her belly today but it doesn’t seem to phase her in the slightest. She licked on them a tad last night as she was dozing off to sleep but nothing since. She definitely loves her agility…I suppose she’s under the motto “No pain, no gain!”. Don’t know where she got that one from…I prefer the motto “No pain, please & thank you!!”
If I remember correctly, we ran the entire course clean the 2nd time through. It was so slippery I was sliding all over the place though! Darn humidity/cold front/dew!! I’m super impressed with my baby dog and she certainly keeps me smiling!
If you got to Sylvia Trkman’s website (www.sylvia.trkman.net) and go to the news page you can find the link to watch her running this course we ran last night. I’m not sure if the direct link will work, but here is the link to the video as well: http://www.silvia.trkman.net/agiind07.htm.
Kathy & Handsome are in our class this month and Hands is doing GREAT!! He’s going to be one awesome agility dog and I hope they get to compete soon! He is a beautiful jumper and wants so badly to get it right that he always does when he’s pointed in the right direction! What a good boy he is!! J
7 October 2007 ~ Our AKC Weekend!
My girls did me proud this weekend, for sure! As I said earlier, Josie & Ivie both Q'd in Standard & Jumpers With Weaves! They got 1st/2nd in both classes. Which was nice since they gave out $5 coupons for first places :) Ivie & Josie both ran JWW yesterday in 19.xx seconds. The 3rd place dog ran it in 39.53 - more than both my girls combined -- wow!! I caused a refusal in Std with Ivie yesterday so she didn't have a clean run but still Q'd.
Today, Ivie ran JWW in 16.09 sec (Standard Course Time was 37) but took 1 bar on a big long stretch. Dangit! Josie also took a bar getting in too big a hurry to get to the weaves. Ah! Ah well, such is life :) So, they both still need a JWW leg to move up. It IS possible for it to be "too easy"!! Josie ran in Open Standard for the first time today since she got her NA yesterday and she got 1st & Q !! YAY for a puppers!! Ivie got a BAD call in Standard on her AF, I KNOW she was in, the judge was in a bad spot to judge since she was faster than he'd planned for, so she missed her NA.
6 October 2007 ~ Josie's first Agility Title!
Well, at her 2nd ever AKC trial, Josie earned her NA in a beautiful [1st & Q] Standard run, taking nearly exactly 1/2 of course time to complete the course, with held contacts, no less :)
Earlier in the day both girls did my proud by taking 1st & 2nd (both with Q's) in JWW. Course time was 55 or so and Ivie ran it in 19.28 while Josie ran it in 19.34. It was Josie's first JWW Q and Ivie's 2nd. Over 6yps for them both. YAY girlies :)
I'm headed out the door in my LockEye tie-dye to see about getting Ivie's NAJ and perfecting Josie's first Open Standard run :)
YAY Puppers!!!
2 October 2007 ~ Josie's 1st USDAA Video!
This is the video I compiled of her runs this past Sunday, 30 September 2007. She turned 18 months old on Sunday so this was the first day she was eligible to compete!
She sewed some of her wild puppy oats out there, but all the mistakes are *my* doing. Poor kid needs a handler that knows what she's doing! Actually, what happened was she was HIGH as a kite, which I've never really seen before, not to this degree anyway, and she was speedier then I anticipated her being. She has also taken to *squeaking*/grunting through the weaves. I was laughing at her in Gamblers, which is why we messed up the second pass :) I had never heard her do that before!!
Notice the table count is RATHER lengthy...the judge forgot to start counting!!
http://s205.photobucket.com/albums/bb217/EmilySnider_2007/?action=view¤t=Josie_TAG_USDAA_07_1.flv
1 October 2007 ~ Josie's USDAA Debut!
MY BABY-DOG DID SO AWESOME!!!
She went 4 for 4, and totally SMOKED the courses!! (She could only compete on Sunday since she turned 18mo on Sunday)
1 st run was Snooker and she got 3 rd only because I did a more conservative plan (5,7,7) to make sure we Q’d, and so she lost out on 1 st place by 1 point. She finished the course in 29 seconds, though, out of the 52 allowed seconds; she was truckin’ it!! We obviously had the time to go for the extra point but there was no sense in risking not Q’ing in STARTERS just to win. No point, with no SuperQ’s at stake! J
2 nd run was Gamblers and she did awesome there too! She was way speedier than I am used to her being so we had a little bobble getting onto the teeter as I was out of position. The weaves were the 7pt obstacle, so we made our way to them, and she was squeaking the whole way through! She was so high!! OMG it was hilarious!! I was laughing at her, so she missed the poles her second time through :-P She got the gamble (it was so easy!!), and got 1 st & Q :)
3 rd run was Standard and she came in 20 seconds under course time (even with me holding contacts) for another 1 st & Q. She nailed a really independent WP entry and squeaked all the way through them again! :) The table was obstacle #6. When she got on the table she did her automatic down and I waited for the judge to start counting. I was getting worried when I hadn’t heard anything after a couple seconds. I started thinking maybe I was off course or something. So I looked at the judge and she was like “Oh, Sorry!! 5-4-3-2-1” She had just plum forgotten to start counting! After the class was over, she told me
that was the 2 nd time in 15years she’s done that. She said she was thinking to herself ‘that is the coolest dog I have seen in a long time’ and just got lost in la-la land out there. Ha!! Nice compliment :)
4 th run was Jumpers and it was definitely the least pretty of all the runs but we still pulled out a 1 st & Q. She kept trying to make it more difficult. Only 14 obstacles, and a LOT of open space out there had her way confused! It was still a 24-sec run, so that was enough to take first place by about a mile.
I’m so proud of my little red girlie girl!!!
She got measured by a regular judge as well as a CMJ this weekend. She measured at 19.75”. My ‘pocket rocket’ ended up growing late in the game and came out WAY taller than I ever thought she would!! I have taught her to jump into my arms at the end of a run, and it’s great fun :) She’s still
small enough to do that with, at least!
I am just on cloud 9 after this weekend. I am SO proud of my baby I’m just busting at the seams. I think we did so much better our USDAA debut than AKC is because *I* was more comfortable, and I knew the ropes, and wasn’t nervous at all. I definitely feel more ‘at home’ at USDAA than AKC. We have our second AKC this coming weekend, and hopefully I’ll be better now that the 1 st time jitters are over with. I know Josie can do it, it’s just me I worry about!
Now all Josie needs for her AD (agility dog) title is 2 Standard legs and a Pairs leg. She has the opportunity to get all 3 of those Q’s at her next USDAA, which is October 20 th -21 st . Here’s hopin’!!
1 October 2007 ~ Happy Anniversary, Ivie!
I just thought I would send an update, on the anniversary of Ivie’s coming to Texas . What a wonderful year it has been!! She fits seamlessly into my life, and it’s just like she’s always been here. I can’t imagine not having her happy, ‘woo woooooo’ing, crazy self around :) She has charmed her way into the hearts of everyone in my family, and all of my friends. She makes each day better then it would have been without her.
I adore my Ivernator, and I look forward to many more years together!!!
This weekend…
Ivie did great [awesome] , on Saturday (5 for 6, all with placements! – 4 th GP, 2 nd STP, 1 st Gam, 2 nd Pairs, 1 st Std), but I was a little pre-occupied with Josie on Sunday and I made some mistakes with Ivie. Like making her do a silly thing in Standard to get E’d, on an otherwise AWESOME run. We got the gamble both days (a 1 st & a 4 th ) and Snooker NEITHER day, so maybe the Snooker column in my title record-keeping spreadsheet will stop growing so much faster than everything else ;) My friend Donna ran Ivie in Jumpers on Sunday and got a refusal on an otherwise awesome run (her time would have gotten her 2 nd place behind Donna’s dog, whom I ran!). We got
3 rd in Steeplechase round 2, as well :) Had I not sent her around an obstacle (I get lost doing front crosses sometimes!!) she would have at least gotten 2 nd , if not 1 st . She was ON, it was just me that slowed her up a bit :)
Ivie’s really doing well, all around. I think the 4 months off for her toe did us both a world of good. Gave us time to bond as dog/human rather than dog/handler. She is Smokin’ Fast now, and when she Q’s, she places. & we are getting much more consistent in the Q’ing :) We’ll be going to the 2008 Nationals for sure! She already has her 2 needed Steeplechase Q’s (after 2 weekends of 2008 qualifiers :) ), and 1 GP Q. We’re doing team twice this winter, so I’m hopeful we’ll be
qualified by the time 2008 even starts.
After the trial yesterday afternoon, it was such a beautiful day that we let the girls go swimming in the river near the trial site for about an hour. They had a blast. There was a nice little current and my 2 BC’s and my friend’s BC just had a grand time cooling their muscles off in the cool river water.
23 September 2007 ~ Ivie's Awesome weekend, in video!
Here are the videos from the 4-day USDAA show in College Station, TX, at the end of August. At the end of the last clip are the 2 runs that I got someone to video for me at the Regional in Fort Worth, Texas. The same show she and I were interviewed for that clip for. :)
I hope you enjoy...every video is about 4 and a half minutes long! :) There were a LOT of runs!! :)
I listed what is on each video clip. I think the only runs I'm missing are a gamble, and the team relay. Since our teammate E'd, it wasn't anything spectacular, and Ivie only got to run for 9 or so obstacles, and I didn't have room on any of these clips for it, so I left it off. I'm sure there are enough below ;)
http://s205.photobucket.com/albums/bb217/EmilySnider_2007/?action=view¤t=Ivie_Aug07_1.flv
The first class is Team Gamblers (toilet paper as a gamble line -- they ran out of tape!!)...we won this class!!
Then Team Jumpers. I hate Jumpers. :)
Team Standard.
Team Snooker. All 7's :)
Masters Snooker. 5,6,7,7. SuperQ :)
Masters Standard. I know we placed, and also Q'd. :)
http://s205.photobucket.com/albums/bb217/EmilySnider_2007/?action=view¤t=Ivie_Aug07_2.flv
Jumpers. I still hate Jumpers.
Steeplechase Round 1. We came in 10th because of the bar but we had the 3rd fastest time. We Q'd.
Masters Snooker. Dropped the 1st red. Doh!! But we still did 7,6,6, and closed, so we Q'd.
Grand Prix. She had a killer time! When she goes off screen she goes and wraps the off course weaves. Sheesh :)
Masters Gamblers. We Q'd and placed, I just forget which place.
Masters Snooker. 4,6,7,7, and ALMOST finished the close. 2/3rds of the way done with 7 when it buzzed.
http://s205.photobucket.com/albums/bb217/EmilySnider_2007/?action=view¤t=Ivie_Aug07_3.flv
Masters Jumpers. Blah.
Masters Snooker. 7,7,6,6, close. SuperQ.
Steeplechase Round2. 4th place!! :)
Masters Standard. 2nd & Q!!
South Central Regional...Masters Standard. She took the 1st bar but was SMOKIN' and all the BIG name dogs threw times RIGHT near hers. I think the dog that won it was about a 1/2 second faster. I was very proud of her!!
South Central Regional...Grand Prix. Nice aside from the weave pole miss :)
5 September 2007
We competed in College Station, TX this past weekend at a 4-day USDAA show. Ivie totally rocked the house...
...& what a totally awesome weekend it was!!
Ivie went…
2 for 2 in Standard
4 for 4 in Snooker (to get our Snooker Champion Silver title!! - requires 25 Q's)
1 for 4 in Jumpers (our arch-nemesis)
2 for 3 in Gamblers
0 for 1 in Relay (but my partner and I switched up dogs just for fun, and her dog E’d with me...Ivie did great!!)
Ivie WON Team Gamblers (first run of the weekend -- woohoo!)
My DAM Team placed 5 th (we were 1 st the whole time, but the sheltie on my team E’d the relay, so we dropped to 5 th )
We got a Steeplechase Q, then came in 4 th in Round 2 and won $20 (our entry fee) !!! :)
We ran a total of 21 times this weekend, and 17 of those were AWESOME "Q-worthy" runs. The 5 team runs just count for one Q, though. I just wanted to note that 17 perfect , or near-perfect runs, in one weekend...is a THRILL !!
So we got 11 Q’s this weekend – I’d say it was a success! For her first show back after injured leave for nearly 4 months, I’d say SHE’S BACK in full force!!
I cannot describe how good it is to be back in full swing with my “Ivernator”!! She was really living up to her nickname this weekend, that’s for sure! Her crate was covered in ribbons, and everyone had to stop and make comments, it was quite amusing.
After being away from showing since May, she certainly made it worth the wait. It was SO good to get out and see all of my ‘long lost’ agility friends from all across Texas again. Everyone was glad to see Ivie was fully healed, and strategizing with my buddies has been something I’ve missed all summer long.
Some people have asked how Ivie did at the AKC show a couple weekends ago. She got 1 STD and 1 JWW leg. The other runs were silly mistakes ½ my fault and ½ hers, methinks :) She told me that that was just a warm up for this weekend, though. She wassaving the good stuff for where it counts! Now
she’s 1Q from her StandardCH title, 1Q from her GamblersCH-Bronze, and 2Q’s from her JumpersCH. ADCH-Bronze by next May; that’s the goal! :)
On both Friday and Saturday, the only runs we did not Q in were Jumpers. I do NOT know why I have this mental block about Jumpers!! In USDAA, it’s ONLY jumps and tunnels!! We have Snooker Champion Silver (25 Snooker Masters Q’s), and oftentimes Snooker is JUST jumps and tunnels, in fact it was twice this weekend…so WHY can’t I do just plain old Jumpers?? It’s so frustrating! After Saturday’s unfortunate Jumpers run (it’s always just ONE little thing, like a refusal I cause or a misplaced cross causing a knocked bar, or ME running into stantions…), I decided I would absolutely not run her in Jumpers anymore this
weekend. So I enlisted my friend EA that runs Riggs (Juice’s littermate), who turns a lot like Ivie, to run her. She Q’d with her on Sunday (our 1 Jumpers Q from the weekend!!) and NQ’d with a refusal (she handles differently than me and Iver got confused) on Monday.
We really, REALLY felt “ON” this weekend (Jumpers aside). Her pre-cues were tighter, her lines straighter, her attention to me unwavering. There weren’t any ‘Ivie moments’ out on course, where she was just on her own agenda. She has always had a bit of that, but I didn’t sense any of it this weekend. We did Awesome in all of our team runs, plus all our individual runs. I just couldn’t believe after the lack of training over that last several months that she was as on as she was. I suppose sometimes they just need some time off, away from it all, to realize what they were
missing! Ivie is definitely glad to be back, and I’m glad to have her back at my side. I love my Ivernator, she makes me proud!!
I have video of every single run from this past weekend, but you’ll have to excuse my tardiness in getting the videos out. I am Chief Ring Steward for the USDAA South Central Regional this coming weekend and I’m up to my eyeballs in worker schedules and e-mails and blah blah blah!! So, it’ll be next week before videos from last weekend’s AKC and this weekend’s USDAA come out. It’ll be worth the wait, though, I promise J
4 September 2007 ~ AKC Agility Pictures!
There are pictures of my girls from Josie's debut AKC weekend here:
http://www.2mcdesign.com/galleries/agilityftakc0807sz/index.html, and click on ‘Snider’
I love how there are ‘identical’ shots of each girl, same place on the course but different dog. Shows their unique style of doing things J I also really like the 2 dogwalk pictures, where each dog is suspended in air on 3 legs, just getting to the top of the dogwalk. I’m getting a CD with all the pictures of both dogs on it. Josie’s first action shots…how could I NOT buy them?! :)
Josie’s “REAL debut” (USDAA) will be the day she turns 18 months old (youngest age you can be to compete) at a TAG show down near Austin , Texas , on the 30th of September, a Sunday. Her first FULL (2-day) show will be local here in the DFW area on the 21st/22nd of October. I can’t WAIT!! :)
My favourite photographer (www.fastclicksphoto.com) will be at that local October show, too, so I’ll get some good shots from that trial for sure!! :)
(all the below photos are within the link above, I just sorted them below) :)
Josie:
Tire, Pre-cued turn!, Lining Up, Weave!, Still Weaving, Only 6?, Can I go now?, Now?!
Nice Josie Contacts!
Dogwalk,
'Mat!',
Dogwalk,
Teeter!,
Another DW
Ivie:
Tunnel!,
Teeter STAY!,
Weave!,
Weave...,
Done Already??,
Apex,
Box SITSITSIT,
Almost a 2O2O (contact? What contact?), Table, Over the Top, Good Start Line Stay!
Side by Side:
Josie's Tunnel & Ivie's Tunnel
(my fave!!) Ivie with her right paw & Josie with her left paw
Josie's Teeter & Ivie's Teeter
Josie's AF contact & Ivie's AF contact
Josie @ the top & Ivie @ the top
Ivie's Broad Jump & Josie's Broad Jump
Josie starts the time & Ivie starts the time
Ivie's Box-SitSitSitSit! & Josie's Box-Sit!
Josie's 1st ever competition jump! & Ivie's first ever AKC competition jump!
Ivie Walks It & Josie walks it!
Josie's Double & Ivie's Double
25 August 2007 ~ Josie's first Trial!
Waiting for Josie's turn at her very first agility trial! Rocket was immensly jealous!!
Ah yes, the photographer was holding an empty water bottle to get their attention . . anythings a potential toy with these 2!
17 August 2007 ~ My Perfect Puppy
(Written to fulfill a thread request on the LE chat list)
My Josefin. Wow, where to even start with her 'profile'? She is amazing. Perfect with a capital P. She is now nearly 17 months old, so I suppose I'll start with a little synopsis of her first year.
She was p
erfect on the ride home from Michelle's. A dream. Slept on her back the whole way besides when I woke her up at potty stops. We got home and she showed me her natural retrieve that first night. 8 weeks old and she fetched little cat toys all night long! Boy, when you order a retrieving dog, you get it! She was potty trained, and perfect about it besides one little UTI but after a round of Clavamox she went right on to being perfect again. In her whole first year she had no more accidents inside than I can count on one hand. It's like she's always known right from wrong and has NO desire to indulge in the latter.
She had this funny habit of taking a kibble or three out of her food dish, dancing around with it, flailing wildly, then eventually spitting out the kibbles on the floor and eating them. Plus the carpet fuzz ;) I taught her, with the help of my terriers, that it's definitely more filling if you eat it all in one sitting. Now she dutifully does just that.
For the first month I kept her and my terriers almost 100% seperated. They had a few minutes a day in the same room, but even during those times, I always kept Josie's attention on ME and if she focused on my JRT, I'd call her and expect an immediate head-turn, which I always got. If I didn't, it was crate time!
At 3 months of age she was granted full off-leash privileges on walks because her recall was 100%. We used to walk all the time with Kathy and her kids, when I lived closer to them.
Josie has always been a water collie. She has never bothered with her water bowl 
(somehow she knew that wasn't a good thing to do - I have no idea how!!), but LOVES the bath, the baby pool, the lake, the ocean, puddles, rivers...anything!!
I started Josie's foundation agility work real early. Mostly attention, manners like sitting at my side to be petted (which has since been blown by agility friends, but that's fine), patience, self-control, moving downs and sits, and her contact 'mat' behaviour. Once she had the moving down really good, I added the mat, and have been doing that since about 4 months of age or so. This was also the time we perfected her 'down at a distance' and within a week of training this she'd do it anywhere within earshot.
I worked at a Doggie Daycare until Josie was about 6 months old so she came to work with me every day. I NEVER let her in the playroom unless I was in there, and even then I made sure her attention was on ME, until I released her to play with the other dogs. Then when I left the room, so did she. She slept in her pop up tent crate thing, just like a little angel, every day. When it was check out time, and the dogs started going home with their owners, I'd let her out on a dog bed behind the counter with me and expected her to stay on the bed while dogs walked by through the lobby unless I released her to be petted by an owner or go sniff a friendly dog. She was supremely impressive with this, at 4 & 5 months of age.
Ever since she was old enough and we began actual agility training, she has been just a complete joy to train (well, she was a joy before too, obviously!!). She learns everything SO quickly, is SO toy motivated, and SO biddable that I just had to stop myself and ask her 'is this even possible??' sometimes. I just couldn't believe how easy she made everything look & feel!
Her daily routine isn't a routine at all these days. I've been unemployed for 5 months so it's just sort of 'do whatever mom wants me to do' every day!! We train a lot, simply because we've had the time, and it's been an important last few months with her growth plates closing and my deciding to finish out all the obstacle performances at that time.
This dog never gets into trouble. She never chews anything that isn't hers. She never steals clothes from the laundry pile, food from the counter, nothing. Nor has she ever offered to.
She loves to 'make out' with her balls. She'll take it in her right paw, roll it up her left forearm, and put her mouth on it, take her mouth off, and balance it there on her leg, then it'll pop off and she'll catch it, or chase it, ...and then do it again. She'll do this for hours to entertain herself -- it's QUITE cute!! I've only caught it on camera on a few occasions...here's one of them...
She loves to give sweet little kisses to the people she loves. She wags her tail, and her whole body wiggles! She has a smile that goes on for days. She has the best attitude, is always 100% willing to give you 100%, and nothing less -- ever. No matter what you ask of her, she puts her whole self into it, head on, no questions asked. She is resilient. She is brave but not stubbornly so. She has slept on the bed since she was about 4 months old; she sleeps until I get up, and is then ready for whatever the day may bring, whatever time we decide to get outta bed! She loves all other creatures, but when meeting a 'rude' dog she tells them they're rude...in the nicest possible way! She has 'favourite people' but loves everyone. She is my constant companion, and partner for life. I can't WAIT to see what our agility career together brings! Every day with my sweet angel is full of happiness and hope for the future.
So, that's a basic run-down of 'my monkey', my soulmate, best friend, and first Border Collie ever. I adore her. Love her more than words could say. She is my perfect, perfect angel, and I can't say enough good about her. If ever there was a dog perfect for me...Josie is it. I wish everyone could meet her!!
11 August 2007 ~ Snake Bite Nightmare
Yesterday was like any other. At first.
I spent the day trying to tie up some loose ends on the computer front so that I’m not that far behind when I start working in 2 weeks (yes, I got a job!!). I was talking to my friend Edie in the afternoon and we decided to go to the park we frequent that evening.
The walk was going along as they usually do. We’d walked most of the land, and had come to the watering hole where we normally sit around for an hour or so, throwing the balls for the herding dogs while the terriers ‘patrol’ the perimeter, and do their terrier-like things.
Madison found what I can only assume is another snake. She has caught and killed rat snakes out there before, and usually finds at least one on every walk, runs it into the water, and it swims off. She then spends the rest of the time looking for it. Well, this time she had one all cornered in a bush type thing and just would NOT stop barking. It was all the way across the creek from me, a good 20 feet or so. I was throwing, pretty accurately might I add, some large rocks at the bush. I was hoping to scare either the snake or Maddie, or both! Unfortunately I didn’t scare either of them.
Maddie eventually gave up the battle and walked away, sort of shaking her head, etc. She kept ‘hunting’ on that side of the creek for another 10 minutes or so, then about 5 minutes after she had swum back across the creek, I look behind me and she’s standing there looking at me and her left eye is REALLY swollen. I start to worry about her then. I had my camera with me and took a picture of her, so I would have it to compare to what she looked like once we walked the 10 or so minutes back to the car. I walked her back, on leash, and took more photos once we got to the car. It had gotten markedly worse. Edie continued to play Chuck-It with the herding dogs so that I could keep an eye on Maddie in her crate in the car. I was trying to decide what in the world to do with her. I couldn’t find any puncture wounds on her anywhere, like a snake bite, but she swelling just KEPT increasing.
This is where the wonderfulness that is Paul (the boyfriend) stepped in and took over, and saved the night for the first time. I texted him that Maddie wasn’t doing well so he called and we talked and I told him I had to run to get her some Benadryl (I was hoping it was just a bad reaction to some poison Ivy or something). After we hung up, he texted me and said he’d bring his credit card and meet me at the ER vet, and to text him where to meet. I told him I couldn’t ask him to pay for my dog’s ER visit. He texted back “You’re not asking, and I’m not offering…I’m TELLING you that’s what we’re doing” Wow. Wonderfulness. I just can’t get over how much he is there for me when I need him. He loves the girls as his own, and he's totally wonderful with them.
So I got Maddie to the ER vet and Paul got there shortly afterwards. Maddie was perky and wagging her tail when she caught sight of him, though in the car she’d been laying out on her side, quivering and moaning the whole way there. Her head was so swollen by this point, she looked like she had Elephantitis or something, and the water had started to sink into her neck and she appeared to have a waddle. I kept taking pictures of her progress. I showed the vet the progression of pictures to help her see how the reaction happened.
We concluded it was probably a ‘scratch’ or a ‘dry bite’ from a Water Moccasin. She had a little bloody spot on the top of her nose, like a scratch or something. So she got a low dose of the venom, thankfully, considering she weighs all of a dozen pounds! She has, of course, had a rattlesnake vaccine, and while that is supposed to help in all instances of snake bites, it’s not an end-all cure, they still have to get treated, and bites can still be fatal, it’s just supposed to help it not overtake them as quickly.
So we left the vet with a bunch of medicine, and she got a shot while she was there. She was alert and responsive, though, so we opted not to leave her overnight. I felt better keeping MY eyes on her anyway. On the way to the vet clinic I’d been running out of gas (light was on) but I wasn’t about to stop. So I stopped on the way home, and Maddie had been whining the whole time. I felt just awful for her. I knew she had to potty since she’d had her temperature taken. So, I got to the gas station, started pumping gas, then took Maddie about 30 feet away to a little patch of grass. I took my eyes off my car for a very brief period, trying to make sure Maddie wasn’t bleeding out or anything in her stool, since she was so pitiful acting.
I got back to my car and my purse was gone. Someone had stolen it out of my front seat! I am typically much more conscious of my purse in my car at gas stations, having heard horror stories, but I was more worried about my precious Madison last night, so I wasn’t thinking about my purse.
The worst part was that my car has keyless ignition so I had no way to start my car. Paul came to my rescue again, driving down to the gas station in Garland, from his house in Frisco (he’d gone back up to take care of his brother’s two dogs before coming back to my house to help me with Maddie for the night), to get my house key from me (luckily it was in my car) and go search my house for the spare key while I waited for the police to show up. I saw the people that did it. I know what time, exactly, it happened, and what pump they used their credit card at. Yet no one seems able to help me. It’s complete…UGH.
While I was waiting for Paul to get there with the key, I gave Maddie cold water with a medicine dropper. She wouldn't/couldn't drink on her own and I wanted to keep her cool and hydrated.
He searched and searched but couldn’t find my key. Midnight rolled around, the cop was there and Paul was at my house searching for my spare, and they shut the lights off at the gas station. SCARY. The cop stayed and made his report until Paul got there. I had called my Suzuki roadside assistance to come and tow it. I couldn’t very well leave it there for the night since those losers had my key and knew where my car was. I agreed to have them tow it to the dealership, which was my only option. Paul showed up and since I hadn’t yet eaten dinner, and it was now midnight, he had the foresight to bring me a couple of the mini-cheeses I have in my fridge at all times. Awe…make me melt!
Paul then took me home and I set to looking for the key. I looked high and low, through everything he had and hadn’t looked through, and found it in an old purse in some random kitchen cabinet shortly before the tow truck was to show up and tow my car. So we raced back to the gas station and picked up my car. Okay, things are looking up a little here. At least I have my car!
The thing is, with my purse they got all my USDAA height cards, my digital camera (with all the swollen Maddie pictures on it), my wallet, some jewelry, perfume, and all my ‘essentials’. Ugh, how annoying!! Oh, and my key which costs about $200 to replace. UGH. It’s also the only purse worth anything that I’ve ever had. It was a gift, and was made by BCBG which is a company that is evidently very proud of their product. Back to the cheap purses for me!
Madison wouldn’t eat when we got home, so I let the other dogs in the room (we put her crate in the bedroom to be able to keep an eye and an ear on her) and let Josie have a lick of her food. That got Maddie to eating! Then I stationed Ivie right outside the crate door, door open, and Maddie ate all her food. Good pup! I just gave her canned Innova so it’d go down easier. We stayed up real late and listened to Maddie whine all through the night.
We woke up this morning to a Maddie that is much less swollen. She is still being really wimpy but at least she looks less deformed, which is good.
I made a reward poster and posted it around the area where the purse was taken. I doubt I’ll get a call, but I can hope. I’ve done all I can do. Now I just have to wait…
28 July 2007 ~ Josie's Contacts!
The end is my favourite part; she sure does love that water!!
I wanted to do a 'progress check' on her contacts, and I dare say I am rather pleased with our 'final product'. My babygirl does me proud!!
These are the contacts we're taking to her debut...August 24-26th!! It'll be everyone's (including my) first AKC show ever. She'll be nearly 17 months old by then. I feel confident that, as a team, we are ready!
27 July 2007 ~ Tired Girlies!
Yesterday was a GORGEOUS day around here and I decided to make the best of it and get some good training in with 
my girls. I took them all out to the DAWG property, which I affectionately refer to as 'my backyard' as I'm out there about that often. I wanted to really test Ivie's toe for soundness and I worked her a lot on contacts, and weaves, and crazy frisbee throws. She was a super good sport, and enjoyed every second of it. I love how she's at a point in her career where taking several months off hasn't seemed to affect her performance. We'll see when trial-time comes, but I have faith in my crazy girl, I do!! This is what I got after one of her sessions...big-tongued-Ivie!
I also worked my Josie a lot yesterday. Proofing hard weave entries, taking video (which will be edited and shared hopefully later today) of her contacts as a sort of 'end product', working tight turns in series of jumps, pre-cues, etc. Basically a lot of different little things. She did most exceptionally well, as I've come to expect. Still, every now and then amongst all the other great things she does s
he does something totally fantastic and blows me away. Some of her weave entries yesterday totally blew me away! I didn't video much weave stuff, I find it's hard to get good angles and keep my fat arse outta the screen, so... ;) After working Josie, I get a very Happy Josie!! :)
I think, though, that my poor monkey got some chiggers while we were out there yesterday. She seems a little uncomfortable in the leg-region, a little ultra-itchy. Maybe some Benadryl (AFTER today's training/exercise of course) will help her feel better, less itchy. Poor Monk!
While I was training the BCs, the terriers were busy running amok out in the field chasing rabbits and what-not. They broke through the horse-fence and were out galavanting around in the pasture. Luckily the horses are used to such terrier-tomfoolery and were not phased by these two ridiculous little white creatures frolicking about. I saw Suz over there and called her back to me, and brought her back up over the fence. Dorky dog. Maddie came back shortly after I took away her hunting buddy, and Maddie was covered in blood. NICE. They had been after 
rabbits all day. I can only surmise Madison actually caught one. ICK.
When Madison was a tiny pup she broke off her back right outermost toenail while staying at my parents' house. They think it happened on a blanket that had a very loose weave to it. She snagged her witty bitty toenail and it never grew back 'right'. A couple years ago she tore it off down to the quick, as in the bloody nub was just dangling there, while lure coursing. Of course I saw it, scooped her up and started to Dr. it and she took off after the lure again! Everyone was wincing watching her, knowing it just had to hurt...HAD to!! I don't think she even noticed it until we were at home later that night. Dork ;)
She broke it off again, though not AS bad this time, while chasing the rabbit yesterday. & she only stopped 'cause I made her.
27 May 2007 ~ Fun with Heather & Rocket!
The girls and I headed to the DAWG property this afternoon to meet up with Heather & the Rocketman. It was a lot of fun! Rocket worked on his clicker board & his contacts, and weaves, of course. I got to work the wild man too!! I worked on a serpentine with him and while he knocked bars at 16" he did great when we raised them a little higher for a couple reps, to see what he was doing with his feet. He just doesn't have to think about it at 16" so he doesn't...:-P Josie does the same thing -- she thinks about it more and keeps the bars up better when the bars are at their regular jump height, not lower!
I also worked my Josie-Monk (& Heather did too -- I was glad to see she will HAPPILY work for someone else when asked to!) on a lot of weaves, some serpentines, and contacts. Her contacts are really coming together very nicely. She did them real well in the fun match (Video link in last update) and even in the 'stress' of that environment, nothing 'fell apart' so I was doubly pleased!
25 May 2007 ~ Josie's 1st Fun Match!! & Josie is the Daily Puppy!
I took my Josie-Monk
to the Rendon Indoor Arena in Burleson, Texas this evening for her very first
ever fun match!! She ran 4 times and she did rather well for
a wee little thing of 13 months!! What a superstar she will be!
She did great distance work, AWESOME contacts, and she took directional cues like a pro. I couldn't have asked for more out of my little kiddo! She's just too cute for words out there on the course too. Gosh she wants SO badly to please!
The funniest part was when I saw her drooling on course! I've never seen this dog drool before! She came flying out of the first tunnel with spit flyin' everywhere! I swear she's trying to be like the Juice-litter...they're a bunch of spitty dogs if I've ever seen any! She had a blast and I did too!
I can't wait to start showing my little munchkin. She is going to kick some serious canine booty when she gets the chance!
A friend took some video for me but I don't have the cable to download onto my computer yet so I'll have to wait to get that. I'm very excited about how she performed, though. VERY excited! She didn't lose her confidence, didn't lose her mind, her focus was spot-on, and she performed at LEAST as well there as she ever has in training. It was like just another day at the office for her...with the usual Josie-flare-&-enthusiasm of course! Her energy is just contagious and she makes my heart melt with her excitement over the entire course. I couldn't adore this girl more.
Video compilation of a couple rounds of the fun match is up!!
Don't forget to check out my joint project with my friend Jamie...www.agilitymutts.com!!
23 May 2007
~ She's got Legs!
Just an update on
size...
Josie is officially out of the "Pocket Rocket BC" club that she
started :-P
I had her measured for the first time 'for real' at the trial this weekend
by a CMJ (Certified Measuring Judge) and he measured her 'right at 20"'
!!! He is known for measuring about 1/4" 'high' so I'm assuming she's
closer to 19.75". WHERE did these legs come from, anyway?! :) What a
girlie!
I kept saying 'well, if she's over 18", she might as well be 20"!'
I guess she overheard and decided to accomodate my wishes :)
So now it'll be even easier for my "little" girlie to compete in
her 22" division...not such a 'tiny' thing anymore!!
She's now 19.75" and 31lbs.
What a perfect size!!!
Being nearly 20" will also help her keep the jumps up if we decide, as a team, to 'go for it' and do any AKC World Team tryouts or anything. Of course this will all depend on how she matures in the end and how we do in any AKC competitions we decide to go to, but if what she does now is any indication, well, I think we might have a shot. She's my tiny superstar :)
You can now 'contact Josie' at the bottom of the page. She's good about returning mail...I promise :)
22 May 2007
~ Windy Day at the DAWG field!
Look what the wind did to my floppy-eared Princess' ears today! What a hoot!
I also took a lot of new videos of my baby girlie!
In the weave videos, the crazy-looking things in the middle of the weaves are table legs. Hear me out :)
If you notice in
the videos, there are bizarre looking things in the weave poles. These are
table legs. Hear me out...;)
I want to encourage single-striding through the poles. I know this can be
achieved by weave-a-matics but I'm currently unemployed and don't know anyone
with WAMs so I was stuck figuring something else out. My trainer came up with
this idea and it really seems to be working. She uses stride regulators out
on her field to accomplish this but these table legs that I found in the shed
seemed to do the trick just fine, thankyouverymuch :)
Josie's footwork on regular, 100% straight, no help, weaves is improving DRAMATICALLY
so I will keep working with these 'stride regulators' in practice and note
the difference I see in her footwork in class.
Also, I will fade the annoying 'gogogogogogooggoogo' but I also want her to
stay focused and in the poles no matter WHAT I say, so that's why I'm talking
:) Off camera I also got right up IN her face and clapped and hollered and
she stayed focused and driven and boy did she kick in the afterburners!!
The 2nd video...I stop the 'gogogogogogoogogogo' for this video. At first it slows her up but she picks her speed back up after a few reps. If you notice, I get about 20 feet of lateral distance from her. Pretty awesome for a baby, BABY weavin' dog. The entry from that jump (26") is pretty heinous, too!! It's an angle we saw on a world team tryout course so I thought we'd give it a shot. We're just starting to work entrances independently of the weave pole performance. This girl blows my mind with what she picks up in latent learning. I mean honestly...
21 May 2007 ~ Fun Times with my Girls
I found these pictures taken back of May of my beautiful girls, today. They were taken back in March but I never got around to publishing them. Bad mom! Anyway, this is by far my most favourite picture of them all. Her eyes...I mean...how could you not fall in love...?
& the rest...
20 May 2007 ~ Pretty Flowers...
& even prettier girls!
18 May 2007 ~ New Videos!
& USDAA Action shots of Ivie, courtesy of FastClicksPhoto!
17 May 2007
~ New Pictures!
I was working some
'independent performance' on obstacles today. Or...perhaps the better term
is 'obstacle focus'. At any rate:) I was sitting still, saying the name of
an obstacle, and Ivie was going out and finding the obstacle, and performing
it. She came like this & I LOVE it. I decided Josie deserved a shot. So
I sat on the ground and did tires/jumps with her using 
only
verbal. She is such a hard working, dedicated little monkey! She got it right
away. I decided it was the perfect opportunity to take some shots of her 'in
her element'.
I LOVE seeing this dog work...too bad I didn't have my camera set right to
capture these.
I did try, unsuccessfully to get some pictures of Ivie, but she is just too good at this game. I didn't have any time to get my camera up before she was over the jump! So I tried to do some recalls with her, too, and got a couple okay shots. Maybe brown photographs better than black...:-P
Weave pics from
today too...the first still pictures of Josie's weaving career!
Since the Jos is getting so awesome at independent weaves, I decided to try
my hand at getting some shots of her in the poles since I can leave her in
and get some good lateral distance...don't laugh...I tried!! :) I love how
she closes the eye getting ready to hit the pole each time...too cute!! &
she's single-striding like a pro. !!
(for clarification, these poles are closed as much as they would close, they're
stuck open a little in places...I think they're old & rusty)
16 May 2007 ~ Barbie Collie Alert!
Heather
V. was so kind as to groom my misfit-of-a-BC yesterday! Poor Ivers had burrs
in her hair, her belly hair was all tangled, and she was just a flat out 
mess!!
Going to the park EVERY DAY will really take a toll on the oldBC coat, it
seems. All the trialing hadn't helped, I think she was also covered in red
clay somewhere amongst the filth. It was time to do something about it!
SO, Heather took my working collie and turned her into a Barbie Collie for
me! She is SO clean and pretty, and symmetric!! It's hilarious how poofy she
was when I picked her up, too, from being blown-dry. She's been swimming nearly
everyday and just air-drying and she's very curly when she air dries. Evidently
she's a POOFball when she gets blow-dried.
I was cracking up, everyone in class last night made comments on what a clean
little barbie collie she was. She smacked it down on the World Team Tryout
course that was set up, though, so she can work AND be beautiful, it's been
proven!
While
Ivie was being groomed yesterday, I took Josie to the park to play some fetch.
While we were playing these little kids all started showing up in baseball
gear. Pretty soon there was a full-on tiny-by-child baseball/little league
practice going on!! So we decided to take shelter in the cool shade of a tree
and let Josie cool off a bit. Then all the moms thought that looked like a
great idea so they boxed us in and set up camp! Josie took it all in stride,
she was awesome!!
There were tiny children running around, a kid with a football (whom she admired
intensely from afar!), people wanting to pet her and play with her...she was
a hit! She did so well, too, with them all!! After about 30 minutes something
spooked her and she startle barked a few times. Weird. Must still be a bit
of that fear period she's trying to shake.
Everyone was like "WOW, she has the softest fur EVER" and "WOW,
her teeth are SO WHITE, there is no buildup on them anywhere, no yellow at
all, how did you DO that??" and then we got into the wonders of feeding
a raw diet and of course they all thought I was completely bonkers. That's
all right, even some DOG people think I'm nuts...and these were kid-people,
so of course they'll think I'm nuts!! :)
All in all it was a great day yesterday!! I'm proud of my Jos for being such
a good experience for so many children that were terrified of dogs. She will
make a great therapy dog one day!
13 May 2007 ~ Mother's Day Weekend
Having
a lazy weekend of it, really. The girls and I met up with Heather and
her boys last night out at Breckenrige. Edie was there with BJ &
Dessa, too, along with a dogpark friend of hers. All the kids had a
great time! Afterwards Heather and I went out to dinner. The snot
hadn't told me Thursday was her birthday!! Ah well, what can you do?!
Tom of Fast Clicks Photo asked me recently for a logo and a link for the 'composite' photos that I make. Hopefully I can get some business from that. He said he gets tired of making them, so he might send people to me. That'd be sweet!
So...anyone want one??? :)
Well, on a VERY exciting note...I just checked the National Top Ten Standings for Masters Snooker for this year....and check this out!!
I didn't think we had a shot at ANY Top Ten for this year...but I guess I was wrong! Now I'll REALLY be going for the placements...this happened totally 'by chance'...WOW...what a good pup!!!
7 May 2007 ~ Birthday Weekend
Before
the weekend's agility festivities started, the girls (plus Lucy) & I met
up with Heather and Rocket for a nice after
noon
of swimming and romping! Ivie loves to let loose with her BC buddies!
Ivie
had a GREAT time over her birthday weekend! We came away with 5Q's, one of
them a SuperQ! 2 Gambles, Pairs, Jumpers, and Snooker.
In the 2 standard runs we did not Q in, it was me making a tiny mistake to
keep it from happening. Abandoning her at the WP entrance (which, she could
have gotten, but thought I didn't want her to, as if it was gamblers or something)
on Saturday, and then mis-walking the course and therefore not being properly
positioned for the NEXT TO LAST jump...the double. I bet she wouldn't have
knocked it if it was a single. Dangit!!! Snooker on Sunday was completely
bizarre for us, she came off the A-frame before getting to the top. Must have
been a real bad angle she went up. Ah well! I was actually VERY pleased with
our Standard runs because there were a LOT of E's, both days, and we were
NOT one of them (in fact the first place dog on Sunday had 5 faults, and we
were 5th with 5 faults Saturday)!! We didn't E all weekend...that might be
a first!! :') So, we're working together better and better...it's nice to
be more consistent than not :)
All in all we had a lot of REALLY great runs and I was so proud of her! I
even heard a 'well, if anyone can do all 7's on a course like this, it's Ivie'
when walking on Sunday. Yay!! Nice to hear compliments like that!! :)
The weather was muggy and mucky and muddy and gross but we survived. Please
excuse the blindingly white legs in the following video clips. It was the
debut of my legs for the summer. ;)
All
the weekend's runs
or, if you are having problems with that, a 2-minute shorter version here:
Agility
Vision Version
Thanks for Heather V. for helping out at the trial, she did a lot of work!!
I got most of Heather & her 'tzu's runs on video from the weekend but
I'll let her edit and send out how she sees fit :) With two dogs, it makes
for a lot of video! :) Rocket was doing great on his mom-focus and his practice
jumping ringside this weekend. He sure is a pretty boy!
Also, thanks to Kathy for coming to cheer us on on Saturday!! She got to see
our Pairs and our SuperQ Snooker runs. Normally I really mess up when Kathy's
there but we pulled it together pretty well in Snooker :) A couple wide turns
cost us 1st place by a second. Ah well :) Kathy's kids did great at the trial
-- Handsome really chilled out and just watched -- a big difference from when
he first saw agility at this facility last October. He is such a good boy!!
& of course Gorgeous was perfect...she's the black/white version of Josie!
:)
I also got to see Elise with Dicey (Smooch x Rimmer '06) there this weekend.
Dicey's all grown up now!! Elise had a great weekend with her older BC Fame,
going 100% on Sunday.
I hope you enjoy the video...we sure did have a grand time!! :)
4 May 2007 ~ Happy Birthday, Ivie!
Dear
Ives,
Happy 6th Birthday to my black & white wonder pup.
I can't put into words how happy & lucky I am to have you in my life.
In the time I've had you, you have taught me so many things, and you amaze
me every day. I love your snuggles, your kisses, and your enthusiasm for life.
You are a true gift and I couldn't love you more. This is only the beginning
of our journey together, and I look forward to many more years of 'me&Ivie'
time! Thanks for all the smiles, the continuous laughs, and most of all, your
devotion. Even though we haven't known each other a year yet, I can't imagine
life without you. I hope to never let you down and to be the best I can for
you.
All my love,
Emily